Karzai meets with Mujahideen leaders ahead of US visit

Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Wednesday met with a number of the Mujahideen leaders in presidential palace, ahead of his official visit to United States of America.

According to a statement released by presidential palace media office, the Mujahideen leaders urged president Hamid Karzai to discuss the issues with the US president Barack Obama considering the national benefits of Afghanistan.

President Hamid Karzai is due to visit Washington in the month of January to meet president Barack Obama.

He is expected to hold talks on Afghan peace talks with the militant groups and long strategic pact including security pact between the two nations.

Karzai earlier also said he will insist on Washington to support and equip Afghan national security forces.

Discussions will also include progress made in negotiating the Bilateral Security Agreement that would replace the current Status of Forces Agreement, and lay out ground rules for a potential U.S. military presence after 2014, along with an Afghan-led peace process and the future of Afghanistan’s security forces.

Negotiations between the United States and Afghan governments on security agreements formally began in Kabul on Nov. 15.

Currently there are about 100,000 NATO-led forces, with 68,000 of them Americans, stationed in the country to stop the Taliban from returning to power.